The president is aware that he needs numbers to make his country look good for taking up the challenge to host; and with the tournament starting this weekend, match attendance figures are not looking up.

For this purpose, Nguema has called on the wealthy and advantaged in the country to follow his example by paying for the less privileged or influencing them to grace the competition.

"We should give the tournament a respectful outlook so we need to acquire seats so that the stadia will be filled. Those who have the means should help the have-nots."

"I have personally bought 40,000 tickets to be shared among the four regions that will host the tournament. These tickets cost 500 CFA Francs each and so the total is 20 million CFA Francs (30,000 Euros)," Obiang said on local television on Monday.